After defense attorney Michael Fawer spent much of this morning trying to distance his client from a bogus charity at the center of the criminal case against her, prosecutors asked their star witness, former 4th District Assessor Betty Jefferson, to elaborate on former lawmaker Renee Gill Pratt's close ties to the nonprofit.

John McCusker, The Times-Picayune archiveBetty Jefferson and her daughter, Angela Coleman, enter the federal courthouse in New Orleans for arraignment in June 2008.

Jefferson responded that she did: an annual school supply giveaway and picnic.

The prosecution also sought to minimize the impact of testimony Fawer elicited from Jefferson, who acknowledged earlier today that Gill Pratt never wrote any fraudulent checks or submitted false documents to the state from the charities.

"Was it Renee Gill Pratt's role to write checks?" Friel asked.

"No," Jefferson said.

"Did she submit documents to the state," Friel continued.

"No."

"What was her role?"

"Her role was to secure the funds," Jefferson said.

"Did she fill that role?"

Jefferson replied: "Yes, she did."

When prosecutors finished with Jefferson, just before 11 a.m., her daughter and admitted co-conspirator Angela Coleman took the stand. Wearing a dark brown suit and gold hoop earrings, Coleman -- like her mother -- was composed.

Coleman testified that she was present at 3313 S. Saratoga St. -- the family's unofficial headquarters -- just about every day from 2000 to 2004, where she had an office for her promotional products business. She said during that time there was absolutely no activity related to Care Unlimited's Project Chance program or Central City Adult Education, nonprofits controlled by Mose Jefferson, Betty Jefferson's brother and Gill Pratt's boyfriend at the time.

"No," she replied, adding that she never saw any young black males arrive for mentoring at Project Chance or young adults come by for GED tutoring at Central City Adult Education. Those are the demographics the programs claimed to serve.

Coleman said there was one nonprofit functioning in the building, an afterschool program for elementary school students run by Lucille Sims. She said she knew it was operating because she could hear the students arrive each day.

Coleman went on to testify about her role in what prosecutors have described as a "criminal enterprise." She said she her main duty was to sign checks after Jefferson family accountant Jack Swetland prepared them.

Even though she opened the bank account for Care Unlimited, Coleman said Swetland controlled the checkbook, and would write checks based on orders from her mother; her uncle, Mose Jefferson; or her aunt, Brenda Foster, who is now deceased.

"Betty would say they were ready, or Jack would say the checks were ready to pick up, and I would go to his office at 650 Poydras," she said. "The envelope would be on the left on a chair."

"Were there other envelopes there?" Marcelle asked.

"Yes."

"How did you know which one was for you?" he continued.

Coleman replied: "It would have the name of the program on it. I would take it, go back to South Saratoga, sign them, and give them to whoever requested them."

Coleman also testified that she wrote checks totaling thousands of dollars to Mose Jefferson, knowing full well he did not actual work for the nonprofits housed on paper in his building on South Saratoga Street After showing the jury two checks Coleman wrote on the same day in 2002 to Mose Jefferson, Marcelle asked:

"Do you know what Mose Jefferson did to earn over $9,000 in one day from a nonprofit? Did you ever see him work a day for a nonprofit?"